It also occurred in John Hackett’s The Third World War, back in 1980. Laser blinded a Space Shuttle pilot.
And it occurred (in actuality, not a plot point) 2,228 years ago, in the Roman siege of Syracuse in 214BC when Archimedes used a set of bronze mirrors to focus sunlight on Roman ships.
(Though he set the wooden ships on fire, rather than blinding the pilots – most of the ships were not in motion, but nchored offshore, out of bow & arror range.)
Well, probably not. The first accounts of Archimedes’ Death Ray appeared centuries after the supposed event, which doesn’t give us confidence that it ever actually happened.
Not that it couldn’t have. Mythbuster’s 3 attempts to the contrary notwithstanding, two modern replications succeeded in setting a ship on fire. And I crunched the numbers for my book – it’s certainly a possibility, if you can aim the mirrors properly.
More relevant to your suggestion and the thread, there’s an Arthur C. Clarke story about soccer fans using their glossy programs to direct sunlight onto an unloved referee. And another story about laser blinding.
But Archimedes’ feat, real or imagined, still doesn’t involve a laser, in any form.
Thanks. Sounds like a helluva guy; may he rest in peace.
Damn. He was my first advisor’s advisor.
a truly bright man.
he should have designed a safety interlock.
Charles Townes did not die…he just became incoherent.
You mean he lost focus?